


Star-Crossed Lovers

by LikeAllLoversAndSadPeople



Category: Gilmore Girls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexual Female Character, First Time, Multi, POV Alternating, Polyamory Negotiations, Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-12 05:42:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28505418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LikeAllLoversAndSadPeople/pseuds/LikeAllLoversAndSadPeople
Summary: Lorelai meets Luke's ex-girlfriend and it awakens something unexpected in her. Meanwhile Rachel is discovering she can definitely feel attracted to two people at the same time and starts hatching a plan to get those people to see the same thing she sees.This is the story of three people falling in love.
Relationships: Lorelai Gilmore/Luke Danes/Rachel (Gilmore Girls), Lorelai Gilmore/Rachel (Gilmore Girls), Luke Danes/Lorelai Gilmore, Luke Danes/Rachel (Gilmore Girls)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	Star-Crossed Lovers

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the very simple fact that I could not get the idea of Lorelai developing a crush on Rachel out of my head, especially after seeing her get all flustered when they first meet. And because I'm a big sucker for polyamory, I couldn't very well let Luke be alone! 
> 
> Canon divergence from season 1 episode 16.

#### Lorelai

Lorelai was having a bad day. People around her were being annoyingly happy and smoochy and a star had just tried to crush her, in a perfect symbolisation of her crappy mood. God she hated love sometimes.

The firelight festival was usually something she enjoyed. Just one of the many quirky Stars Hollow things that made other people want to call guys with butterfly nets. This year though, everything about it annoyed her. 

She knew Rory’s insistence it had something to do with Max and her not speaking right now was dead-on, but she wasn’t ready to deal with that fact yet. So she went to Luke, where she knew there was a soundboard for her hatred of love.

She was just finding some cynical comradery with Luke when she heard the casual greeting behind her and saw Luke freeze in place. 

“Rachel,” he breathed, stare fixed on the person standing somewhere behind Lorelai, still out of sight.

Lorelai unconsciously mirrored the shocked expression on Luke’s face as she realised the implication of the name. The famous Rachel. 

Lorelai turned around, ready to greet this person so revered by the town, and faltered. The woman standing there was smiling, eyes bright and expression unguarded. And for the first time in a very long time, Lorelai found herself speechless. 

She was gorgeous. It was the first word that popped into Lorelai’s head and it made a home there. People describing Rachel had been nuts, she couldn’t be compared to some celebrity. Rachel had a beauty that was just her own.

This made Lorelai blink. Sure, she could appreciate beauty when she saw it, but it was always in a detached way, or sometimes in an envious one. Never like this, never with this molten feeling in her stomach, spreading downwards. She didn’t know what this was, but it caught her completely off guard. 

While this confusion was happening inside her head, she could hear herself babble about coffee makers and didn’t know how to stop it. Rachel reacted kindly, but was obviously distracted by Luke. Of course she would be, she came here for him, after all. 

But Lorelai couldn’t seem to make herself shut up. If only to draw Rachel’s gaze to hers. Every time their eyes met, she felt something electric go through her. God, what was the matter with her?

She cut their conversation short and excused herself, desperate to collect her thoughts away from this unexpectedly unsettling person. Luke and Rachel didn’t even seem to notice, they were too busy staring intensely at each other.

It kept bugging Lorelai for the rest of the day. She hated having made such an awful first impression, and she couldn’t quite figure out why. Like Rory said, it was just Luke’s ex-girlfriend. But she found herself desperately wishing that Rachel thought well of her. 

It bothered her all the way through dinner at her parents, even distracting her from the truly awful man they’d invited along.

Was this attraction?

The word shocked her a little, even though it was only in her mind. She’d never been attracted to another woman. Celebrity crushes didn’t count, obviously. Like anyone could watch Ingrid Bergman on screen and not find themselves attracted to her.

Maybe it was just the pent-up energy from not seeing Max that was finding a way out. Maybe it wasn’t attraction, but jealousy because of Luke. Everyone was always telling her she was secretly in love with Luke, why the hell not? It made more sense than a sudden crush on a pretty girl she’d never seen before. 

It was late in the evening by the time she saw Luke sitting on a bench at the firelight festival and managed to ask him about Rachel. He looked different when he talked about her, lighter somehow. It made something hurt in her chest and she couldn’t even tell for what or who she was hurting exactly. She wanted Luke to be happy, of course she did. 

She kept sitting on the bench for a long time after he’d left, lost in thought. Maybe she should call Max after all. Hearing his voice would certainly help with this confusing swirl of emotions inside her. Yeah, maybe she’d call him tomorrow.

#### Rachel

It felt weird to be back in Stars Hollow. After all the places she’d been, all the years that had passed, she could just take a plane and end up in a place that looked exactly the same. It felt comforting, somehow.

Luke was the same as well, of course. She’d been afraid to face him, after the way she’d treated him, but he’d taken her in without hesitation. His friend Lorelai had been a surprise. 

Rachel hadn’t really paid a lot of attention her at first, she was too focused on Luke and his reaction to her. Those eyes had stuck with her though, blue and piercing in a way that left you feeling warm afterwards. 

Luke had studiously avoided mentioning her by name, though Rachel could feel her presence in his life like a gaping hole. Was he dating her? The thought occupied her for reasons unknown.

She hadn’t had any expectations walking into his diner, honestly. They’d been apart for a long time and she wasn’t looking for any sort of rekindling. She’d just had the urge to see him and to feel what he did to her.

Now she’d seen him and she still wasn’t sure what that was. There was something there, that was for sure, but she didn’t know what it meant yet. 

Doing what she always did when she felt untethered like this, she got out her camera and went exploring. Stars Hollow was a far cry from the Middle East, but she liked the strangeness of this classic American apple-pie town all the same. Even when she’d lived here, it hadn’t felt like her home. 

Rachel was addicted to new experiences, a quality of herself she’d long ago accepted. She liked the feeling of landing somewhere and just making herself fit in this community or culture. She liked discovering new things about the world and usually about herself, too. 

When Rachel arrived somewhere, she immersed herself. Often that meant making connections with other people, even falling in love a few times. But even those connections always felt temporary. 

Good for now, is how she usually thought about it. And the hurt that came with leaving was part of it, it meant she’d genuinely cared, that she wasn’t indifferent about this place or the people in it. 

Never though, had the thought of being hurt stopped her from leaving. Never had a connection been strong enough to tether her to a specific place. 

Was she maybe hoping Luke would be that person? 

Part of her wanted to settle down, wanted to fight this part of her nature that kept her moving all the time. Maybe now was the time that would finally stick. 

The thoughts kept going around in her head while she went through the familiar actions of adjusted her camera, focusing the lens, and pressing the shutter release. Taking pictures always put her in a more pleasant headspace, no matter where she was.

She had a lot of fun taking pictures at the firelight festival. People always seemed different at these kinds of things. More open and relaxed. Plus the lighting from all the fires was doing awesome things for her photos. 

When she was on her way back to Luke with a cup of the lethal Founders Day punch, she spotted him sitting with Lorelai. 

Lorelai was wearing something blue which really brought out her eyes. Rachel couldn’t resist raising the camera to her eyes and snapping a few shots. She was truly a beautiful woman. Luke seemed to think the same, if the look on his face was anything to go by. He had a soft, unguarded smile on his face that made Rachel smile as well. 

They looked good together. 

The thought came unbidden and wedged itself in her mind. She believed Luke when he told her nothing was going on there, but she could see the potential for it right there on their faces. 

It made her want to be a part of it. 

She didn’t know what it was exactly. Maybe the combination of Luke’s welcoming familiarity and Lorelai’s exciting newness. 

It wasn’t the first time she’d felt attracted to another woman. Hell, she’d even dated one for a while.

There was something about a pretty girl that made her tingly in a way a man never quite seemed to manage. All that soft skin and curves that seemed to fit her hands perfectly. 

Lorelai looked like she’d be a good kisser. Suddenly, Rachel was aching to find out if that was true. Maybe she would if she played her cards right...

**Author's Note:**

> I will be updating rating and tags as I go along, but this story will definitely head into kinky threesome territory, so be warned! 
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated :)


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